The Great Influenza

It is believed that a flu virus managed to kill 5% of the earth's population around 1918. In The Great Influenza, John Barry puts us there. The reader travels with the bug across the world, gets a glimpse of the terror it caused among the population, learns how the virus works, and meets the scientists who try to fight it.

Hornbeck Offshore

Under normal conditions, I tend to avoid investing in anything related to energy and other commodities, precisely because they are prone to the type of manic price crashes that we have seen in the oil industry over the last couple of quarters. But following crashes, there may be opportunities to pick up some babies that have been thrown out with the bathwater. I believe Hornbeck Offsore Services (HOS) may offer just such a chance, with some downside protection to go along with upside as the price of oil eventually (even if it's many years away) reverts to the all-in cost of a marginal barrel.

Bull of Heaven

In Bull of Heaven, Nawar Alsaadi takes us through his life as an investor, with a particular focus on his activist fight with Equal Energy. For me it was a real page-turner, as I enjoyed reading about Alsaadi's adventures growing up in Iraq (and his family's clashes with the Saddam Hussein regime) and his many financial adventures in the stock market.

I Double You, G!

A stock I have been buying recently is IWG Technologies (IWG), a producer of aircraft water systems. The company is the "world’s leading provider of flight-certified potable water treatment units, on-demand water heaters, aircraft water pumps, a compact water module, and innovative potable water components", with more than 3000 of its units installed on airplanes worldwide.

Red Notice

Bill Browder's Red Notice was a difficult book to put down. It's the real-life story of Bill Browder's Russian hedge fund, but it feels like fiction: what happens to Browder and his associates feels straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster thriller.

Selling Dover Downs

Just over three months ago, I wrote about Dover Downs Gaming (NYSE:DDE) as a potential value idea. Since then, the stock has run up almost 50%. Considering not much has changed from a business standpoint, I felt it prudent to sell my shares and apply those funds instead to situations where the market is pessimistic rather than optimistic.Read more...

STT Enviro

For a company with a net cash position, STT Enviro (STT) may be the most volatile stock I've seen. But that price volatility is a good thing, as it allows investors opportunities to buy this company at a discount to intrinsic value.